The Order of the Squid
by 44Hydras
Summary: The only thing on most inklings' mind is Turf Wars. But what if the lovable sport is actually a ruse for something a lot more sinister. Something so hidden that no one except the most observant, or crazy, know about. Here is a story about one inkling's journey into this strange new world. Please leave comments for any ideas and feedback!
1. Things to be stated

Things to be stated:

I envision the different ink colors as being different colors because they have different toxins in them that change the color. This means 2 things. 1, white ink has no template and is therefore kind of like water that any color of ink can stand. And 2, if you were to mix many different inks together, if they didn't cancel out, then you would mix the colors and the toxins in them, making a new variant that would still have a unique chemical signal than other ink colors. In this way, not all reds have the same chemical make up, so if you are not the right shade of red, then you are still going to die from the other toxins in that other shade of red that were used to help create it.

This crossover is more of an idea crossover than a character crossover as Splatoon is a game where you create your own character.

Pronunciation guide. Haiden: Hide-en. Raymond: Ray-M-On-D. Chopan: Chop-an. Verael: V-air-A-eel. Cartulio: Cart-oo-leo.

Have fun reading and please leave comments and feedback! This is one of my first writing projects, so any help would be appreciated!


	2. Prologue

_'Must move faster!'_ A shadow flitted though the alleys of Inkopolis. Running, panting heavily. He comes to a split and takes a quick turn, hoping to evade his opponent. He looks to the roofs above him watching for any sign of that white robed figure when he came to a wall. Not breaking stride, he inks the wall with his signature dark orange ink and scales the wall. At the top, he stops and looks down at the alley, watching for his pursuer. He sees nothing, a bad sign. Before he can react, a hand is over his mouth and a voice at his ear. "Where is Chopan" it says at barely a whisper, the cool assurance of his position speaking measures about not only his confidence, but his readiness to kill. "Please, I-I don't know!" is all he can speak through the fingers before he is forced onto his knees. "Do not test me Verael, we both know that is not true." He hears his marauder assert. _'My name? How does he know my name?'_ he thinks as fear strikes his heart "I-I… he was near the docks. We don't know what he has down there, but he has armed guards on one of the warehouses. Please don't hurt me, I'm not ready to die!" he cries pleadingly. "I am sorry, but no one can know that I am here."

A small blade comes out of his assailant's wrist, coated in a black substance. ' _Black ink? Does that even exist?'_ Are the last things he thinks before the blade slits his throat. Seeing his chance, he tries to change color to the black ink. In this attempt to seal the wound he succeeded, only to realize his mistake too late. There were deadly amounts of chemicals in this black ink, more than any inkling could handle. Even as the man walked away, Verael's body slowly melted into a puddle of this ink too toxic to be handled by his immune system. "Requiescat in peace."


	3. Chapter 1: A Morning Routine

Haiden woke up to soft morning light streaming through his windows and a loud buzzing in his ear. He groaned while sitting up to turn off the alarm on his clock. Stretching, he continued with his morning routine by turning on his TV and pouring himself a bowl of Captain Kelp's Crunch that he kept next to his bed. He flipped through channels, trying to find the latest episode of an anime he liked to watch. There was the usual assortment of children's cartoons and history documentaries, talking about the ancient human race that might have existed. They usually were drawing on strange evidence and flawed logic anyways, humans were as real as aliens from space. As he was channel surfing, something caught his eye. A major newscast on the new Turf War stage being unveiled later that day.

"Today we are here at the site of the newest stage unveiling for the popular sport, Turf Battles!" the reporter says enthusiastically. Haiden rolls his eyes at the incorrect name. "Turf Wars you moron." He mumbles through a mouthful of cereal. The reporter continued saying, "The Museum D'Alfonsino is just full of people here today all waiting for the full reveal later this afternoon! Come on down before then for a tour of some of the galleries and activities for the kids right outside!" The reporter continues to babble on about the activities while Haiden watches with disinterest. He wasn't liking the idea of a new stage for him to get used to.

Haiden finished his bowl of cereal and was about to pour another when a breaking news highlight came on the TV. "Breaking news! Earlier this morning a group of police officers raided the headquarters of the infamous "Flame Riders" gang, only to find every member dead. However, the leader of the Flame Riders, a squid by the name of Vincent, was notably missing along with what the police assume is most of the money that was inside the safe." The reporter took a breath and continued with her report, "According to the ongoing investigation, it looks as if the gang members had a fight which resulted in knives being pulled. Once every man was dead, Vincent took what money was left and fled the scene. Police followed his tracks to a nearby sewer line, where the trail ended." Haiden was frozen, listening to the reporter talk about the fight. He shook his head to clear it before getting up.

Haiden's phone rang as he was getting dressed. Pulling his pants up hastily, he hopped over to his desk and answered. "Heeeeeyyyy, Haiden!" came the deep cheerful voice over the phone. "This is just a reminder that we have practice at 9:30. You still up for that?" Haiden checked his watch. It was 8:30. "Sure thing Raymond." He coughed out before clearing his throat "have you seen the news? Those dirty cheats we beat yesterday killed each other over a bunch of coins." "Yeah, and a shame too. I was gonna beat them into a sludge again." Raymond chuckled "weren't you joking about joining them to learn their dirty secrets?" Haiden's eyes widened in realization. He had fought several teams that wore Flame Rider colors. They had cheated and fought dirty, cussing and slandering their opponents, but no one could deny the skill that they had. He had been close to asking to join them, temporarily of course, because he wanted to learn their cheats so he could know how to better counter the dirty tricks. He had been close to being a part of that gang fight. "Oh, my gosh." He breathed into the phone "dude, I am so glad I didn't ask." "Yeah. I don't know what I would do without you." Raymond responded. "See you in an hour at the Dojo!" "See you then!" Haiden said before Raymond hung up. He collapsed on his bed. "One less cheating team out there" he said to assure himself.


	4. Chapter 2: Ride N' Tide

Haiden sped down the road, trying to get to Inkopolis in time. He had forgotten to refuel his motorcycle last night, so he had had to walk it to a station to refill it, and now he was right on track to being late for his practice with Raymond. However, he was planning on curving that track down a bit by taking some "side roads". He got off the main highway and immediately turned down a small street between some buildings. It was littered with trash, but Haiden kept the bike steady, despite the fact that he almost spun out a few times. Coming to the end of the little alley, he turned a hard right, drifting out of the passage onto a new street. Several cars honked as he sped in front of them, heading directly towards central plaza. A stoplight ahead of him turned red. He checked his watch. It was 9:20. Haiden sped up and ran the light, earning him the attention of a police officer nearby. "Oh great," Haiden huffed "now what am I gonna…" he trailed off, seeing one of his less used side roads.

Turning a hard left across opposing traffic, he shot down the alley, an officer on a surprisingly fast electric scooter in pursuit. Haiden saw the officer in his mirror and cursed. Coming to a turnoff, he turned last second to the right; directly into construction. "Whoa!" Haiden yelped as he drove onto the scaffolding. They were repairing several buildings in Inkopolis, replacing the eroding bricks. Now on this unexpected detour, he was moving too fast to stop, and the officer was right on his heels, running up the scaffolding past several startled workers. Haiden's reflexes were what saved him. With his speed and the quick turns, he could barely control the bike's movement. But barely was just enough to keep him from falling off.

Haiden reached the top and rode onto the roof, surprised that he had made it this far. He stopped and looked for a way off. A pile of wood had been laid perfectly in the shape of a ramp on one side of the roof. Another building was in that direction, but at a slight angle, so he would have to hit the ramp at a perfect angle or go tumbling into the street below. Seeing no other alternative, he hits the gas. Approaching the edge, Haiden realized how stupid this was, but decided to do it anyway. It was gonna be awesome if he pulled it off. He hit the ramp and turned, hurtling over the wall. He flew over the street below, flying like a squid possessed. His front wheel went over the lip of the other building, but his back wheel got caught, flipping him over onto the roof. He stood up and looked back. The officer was staring in astonishment at Haiden. Haiden smiled and waved before heading over to the roof access of the building he was on.

A few minutes later Haiden walked into the battle dojo. "Hey man! Almost thought you were gonna be late!" a cheerful voice boomed from across the room. Raymond's bulky form hulked over to Haiden and put him in a bear hug. "I would never!" Haiden said defensively, "I just got a little… held up is all." Raymond set Haiden down and gave him a quizzical look. "Nothing you should really care about." Haiden said looking him in the eye, "Come on, let's go get started, we don't wanna waste time." Raymond shrugged and followed him over to the desk to rent a practice arena. "How about a small bet eh?" He said with a twinkle in his eyes, "best 2 out of 3, loser pays for the arena?" Haiden considered this for a moment before replying, "You are so on."


End file.
